We have been very busy this year so far, with many changes taking place to the site. We have concentrated our efforts on the museum section this year, a change from our original plan due to finance and general maintenance issues. Track work was due to progress up to top station area, we have put this on hold again which for us is very annoying.

The yard and track has been completely sorted form woodland curve right up to the last to track panels into the shed. The ground leveled off and the track relayed properly. The Yard gates have been extended and moved to accommodate the new formation which includes a link up to the delivery road, and 2 further sidings severed years ago. Once complete this will enable stock to be shunted with consummate ease and provide much needed siding space. Most of the rubbish that had lay in the yard has either gone or ready to go. As the yard progresses the place gets tidier.

The museum has had some remedial repairs done and been repainted cosmetically, but work will be required to do a proper job soon. A planned shut down of electrical services and a new power distribution board is required. This is currently being worked upon. The museum has been used extensively this year for private charters, and a corporate event with ReadyPower along with loco repairs, wagon building. It is now possible for visitors to view work in progress. The museum was completely emptied on the workshop side and cleaned and new (second hand racking) was installed to store materials and parts etc More to follow….

The garden has been revamped with sweeping changes made. The compound area has been stripped out and cleared of rubbish. Buildings repaired and repainted. New fire escapes installed along with the external repaint of the community coaches.

We have cleared a central section of the garden and installed a brand new children’s activity centre – which has proven to be a very big hit indeed. The garden has been shaped around this and it looks fantastic. A very big thank you to Pat Killeen and the Community Payback Group (CPG) for their work on this; special thanks also to Cyril Crouch for all his help for making this happen!

Hunsbury Carriage & Wagon – a new project started in November 2011 to refurbish and restore wagons of all types but especially timber framed examples. We have almost completed our first project, along with a refurbishment of a Wickham trolley. We have 2 commissions for smaller scale projects, along with a number of larger projects from various sources currently under discussion.

The larger projects will hopefully kick start Hunsbury Carriage & Wagon on a formal business basis, whereupon we will be show casing our work to invited guests early in the New Year. Our aim is for this to be an enterprise for training of unemployed people, to enable them to gain new skills; while conserving our heritage and bringing much needed funds into the charity. We are currently discussing how we can progress this.

The Trust has recently purchased 4 wagons (3 plank wagons & 1 steel Hopper) for the collection. They need some major renovation work, but this can be done in house.

NIRT has been commissioned for a new restoration project to start in the new year. Another box van will arrive at Hunsbury during the next month which will be fully restored to its former glory. We expect this to take sometime, the item may remain with us after restoration which is fantastic, this has still to be decided by the owners.

A grounded L&NWR box van arrived from Cottesmore, eventually we plan to restore this back to running order. A wagon recently delivered as a source of spares, will be the donor for all under sole bar equipment.

Two new oak timber trolleys have been commissioned for building by a private owner. They will be based on an LNER design which we will be starting on shortly.

Our 'sparks' wagon frame is almost cleaned and painted ready for the body to be fitted. The body was removed to gain access for repairs to both the frame & body. This will be used to carry ballast amongst other things for track work.

The ICI van is currently having the running gear serviced and painted, ready for the final jobs to be completed. A new floor and the re fitting of brake components will follow shortly

4220001 Charles Wake. This Loco has almost clocked up 1000 hours running since its rebuild, as part of our maintenance program the loco was brought in and given a repaint and is now in Royal Claret the same colour as the royal train and bears the Crest of Northampton on both sides and the front. The Licence to carry the Crest has been granted with kind permission from Northampton Borough Council, and is a rare privilege.

The colour was selected to honour HM Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee Year celebrations. Charles Wake now looks truly stunning and will remain in this colour for the foreseeable future.

The Planet Locomotive has recently under gone a repaint and was out shopped for Halloween duty. A number of repairs were carried out while in the workshop. She started first time after a whole year of standing outside, entering and leaving the workshop under her own power on both occasions. A recurring oil leak, thought to because by oil getting to hot and thinning, has left the loco out of service for the time being. This will be brought back into works for an assessment of the problem and rectified accordingly.

The Wickham Trolley Currently at NIRT for overhaul this has completed. The owners have had to have parts repaired which are waiting fitting then the big test will be firing her up for the first time in many years.